This is the fourth week that the number of people on trolleys has hit 600LYNNE CAMERON/PRESS ASSOCIATION

Almost 100,000 people had to wait on hospital trolleys in emergency departments last year, according to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

Yesterday morning there were no beds for a record 656 people as the winter hospital overcrowding crisis set in. The figure exceeded the previous record of 612 set on January 3 last year.

The numbers were described as a government failure by Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin. Earlier this week Leo Varadkar had said that people left waiting in emergency departments were being denied dignity. Last night Simon Harris said that “no effort or resource is being spared to improve the situation”.

This week is the fourth time that the number of people waiting for treatment has exceeded 600. Yesterday morning…